A Couple Was Rejected in Immigrant Application Due to Illegally Growing Marijuana

 A Chinese man in Orange County, South Carolina, whose wife and children are both American citizens and longtime residents, and who are actually married, was recently denied family immigration even they all follow the green card steps. The immigration bureau rejected his application for a green card because his rented house had been used to grow marijuana.

Mr Li, who is from mainland China, is married to a US citizen and has a daughter, according to Mr Huang’s lawyer. On August 2, 2019, Mr. Li applied for a green card for family immigration. On January 9, 2021, the Immigration Office made an interview, but Mr. Li never received any information after the interview.

After huang xiaosheng accepted the case, he immediately sent a letter to the immigration bureau urging him. In March this year, the immigration Bureau issued a “letter of intent to reject”, and the lawyer further followed up the case, but before long, they received a letter of rejection of the 485 green card. Mr. Li received the letter on the I-485 form, the final step in the process of adjusting his status to obtain a green card, indicating that his application had been officially rejected. “This is a special case,” Huang said. “The applicant had a bona fide marriage with a US citizen, but his application for green card status was rejected. Our investigation revealed that the reason given by the immigration bureau was related to the applicant’s rented house.”

It is reported that in early 2019, Mr. Li just arrived in the United States, in Orange County to buy an investment house ready to rent. At that time, a tenant surnamed Luo came to ask for rent. He promised to pay six months ‘rent in advance, but proposed that he needed to transform the basement to grow “water bamboo”. Mr. Li knew that the so-called “water bamboo” was actually marijuana, but he heard that marijuana was legalized in California and that orange County, where the house is located, also allows marijuana cultivation, so he signed the contract gladly. At the same time, the two sides reached an agreement that the tenant, Mr. Luo, would directly pay the house’s utilities and property taxes.

Soon after, the rental house was complained by the Homeowner Association (HOA) for its heavy smell and loud noise from the fan, but Mr. Li didn’t pay attention to it. Instead of planting other crops, he promised to harvest and dry the crops as soon as possible and transport them away. As a result, the property, which grew marijuana, was not licensed by the California government and orange County government, was eventually seized by local police, and the tenant, Mr. Luo, was arrested and charged with illegal marijuana cultivation. Mr. Li, the landlord, has not been charged, but the police are treating him as a witness and requiring him to testify in court at any time.

Huang xiaosheng said the man, Surnamed Li, was involved in the illegal cultivation of marijuana in his rented house, and although he was not criminally charged, his application for a green card was affected. In March this year, Mr Lee received a “letter of intent to deny” from the Immigration department, pointing out that he was suspected of being involved in the cultivation and trafficking of cannabis. Under Section 212(a)(2)©(I) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, immigration authorities can deny green card applications if they suspect that applicants are involved in illegal cultivation and trafficking of marijuana.